Pneumatic insole for shoes



0V. 259 M. ROSENWASSER PNEUMATIC INSOLE FOR SHOES Filed March 3, 1929.

' 'INI/EMDR; am Mmmm.

ATTRNEK Patented ov. 25, i924.. l

MORRIS ROSENWASSER, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y. I

rNUMATIc InsoLE Fon sHoEs.

To all 'whom z't may concern: v

Be it known that I, MORRIS RosENwAssER,

a citizen Vof the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic' Insoles for Shoes, of which the following is a specifica.-

` tion.

This invention relates to pneumatic treads or lnsoles for shoes, slippers, and other articles of foot-wear.

. sole or tread Which canbe manufactured and sold as a separate article, or made a part of a shoe, slipper, or other article of footwear.

Another object of the invention is to provide as an article of manufacture, a shoe wherein the new and improved insole is incorporated so that the covering for the foot can beworn with a greater degree of comfort than is possible with the pneumatic insoles as heretofore constructed.

Another object of the invention is to prof vide a "pneumatic tread or .insole of such form that the major part of the cushioning effect is located under the arch or instep of the foot.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedinsole of theepneumatic type, so constructed that the weight of the foot will anchor it rmly-in place, so that a cushioning effect is provided without any tendency of the foot to move .backwardly and forwardly in the shoe.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedjnsole of the cushion type, in which a pneumatic tread is provided of such character thatthe major (bushioning effect occurs under the arch or instep, so thatthe toes of the foot are not forced upwardly against the inner side of the shoe with accompanying rub and chang.

Other objectsland aims of the invention, moreA or less specific than those referred to above, will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in the course of thesfollowing `description of the elements, combinations, arrangements of parts and applications of proved pneumatic insole, with the covering removed, and `showndissociated from the article of footwear in which it is intended to be incorporated.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the completed tread, on the line 2 2 of Figure 3. t. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the insile takenon the line 3 3 of Figure 2; an

Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a shoe provided with the improved insole, the foot being inserted 'in the shoe so as to show the distribution of the aircushion under the weight of the foot.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views thereof, the numeral l denotes one of the walls of the cushion, composed of a resilient impervious material,'such as sheet rubber, and corresponding in outlineto the contour of the human foot. Corresponding to the wall 1 there is a similar wall 2, provided, however, along its margin with an outwardly extending flange 3, the flange 3 extending from a point substantially where the ball of the foot rests upon the insolebackwardly around the heel, and forwardly to the point of con tact of the ball of the foot.

In constructing the insole the two opposed walls are placed one upon the other, and the lateral flange bent over the upper wall, and inwardly as shown in Figure 1, in which po-V sition the two walls are vulcanized together along their margins, in such a way, however, as to confine a quantity of air within them. From the point of contact of the ball of the foot forwardly to the to.- of the insole, the two walls are forced into contact and vulcanized or otherwise joined together, sc as to form a Hat homogeneous extension, the two walls being in contact so that no air is contained betweenthem inthe eX- tension. At the heel there is provided a reinforcing strip 4., which overlies theunion of the flange 3 with the'wall 1, as shown. It will be understood that the heel takes up' a 'great deal of the wear dueto the alternate pressure and release of the heel of the foot 105 in walking, and the. strip 4 provides added protection at the point where this weer ocp curs.

The air. confining sack, as shown in Figure 2, is rovided with an outward covering 5, ma eof a exible inelastic absorbent material, such as is lprovided by certain kinds of leather.

The covering is made of two halves, one being provided with marginal extensions 6, as shown in Figure 2,

" shown in use in Figure 4, it being laid loosely in the interior of the shoe, the Hat extension projecting into the toe of the shoe. It will be noted that in such position the flat extension, which as stated, is formed by the homogeneous union of the opposed Walls p the air forwardly/ until the main Y ythe air forwardly as I for the foot to be shoved insole. The

tive anchor. both for ,and as will be seen 4of the sack, begins at a point 8, where the ball of the foot presses downwardly when Vweight is put on it.'- The extension projects forwardly from thispoint into the toe of the shoe, so that the only cushioning effeet from the point 8 forwardly is produced by the natural resiliency ofthe walls of the sack. It will be seen also that the weight of the heel, as indicated at 9, tends to force body of air is contained withinv the sack at a'point 10, which is directlyunder the arch or instep.

When thel shoe is used in walking, the weight comes first at the' point 9, forcing the foot is rocked. The ball of the foot engages the pneumatic insole at 8. and the ball of the foot and the anchor so that toes serve to provide a firm "the'insole or tread cannot be moved relatively to the shoe. I nasmuch as the insole contains no air from a point corresponding to the ball of the foot` forwardly, there is lno tendency. for the toes to be forced up against the inner side of the toe cap with resultant ehafing. i

-It will be seen .also that with my' new and'improvedinsole there is no tendency farther into the shoe during walking, the result which would follow naturally were the air-cushion provided throughout the entire length ofthe flat extension lprovides va posithe insole and the foot, Y 4 the main cushioning effect is produced under the arch, so that I secure an air cushion arch support,'aswell as 'a' cushioned tread.

'I'nasmuch as the `pneumatic envelope or sack is made'ofa resilient material, itl readily'adapts itself to the surface of the foot and provides. perfect cushion with an' increased cushioning ei'ect at the point where such support is most needed.

While I have shown my improved pneu-` matic cushion composed of twoV se arate walls united alon their margins, I o not intend to be limlted to this construction, inasmuch as I contemplate also making the enti-re envelope of an integral construction.

I also contemplate the union of the two Walls forming the sack as herein shown by other than vulcanizig Nor do I intend to be limited to the. use of any definite quantity of air or other compressible fluid located within the envelope. The quantity of air therein contained may be varied in accordance with the demands of the service to which the pneumatic tread is to be put. Any construction by which a quantity of compressible Huid may be contained within an envelope or sack, which is in turn provided with an anchoring extension as shown, will produce the results lwhich I have in mind.

As many changes could be made in this construction without departing from they scope of the following claim, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or *shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. y

aving thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is A pneumatic insole, comprising a flexible air sack conforming to the contour of the interior'of a shoe, the said sack consisting of upper and lower members substantially as longl as the interior of the shoe, the said members beingclosed one upon the other and secured together permanently from the toe end of the insole to the instep, the remaining portion of the said sack containsaid closed toe portion of the insole to the heel portion thereof when the foot of the I wearer of the shoe .is at restv thereon, and

the -said air charge being pressed forward bythe heel of the foot when walking and forced 'into an 'air body of greater than the normal depth and vlocalized directly below the instep and operating to exert a pressure upwardly upon the sole of the foot at each step.

In testimony whereof, I atlix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MORRIS ROSENWASSER. Witnesses: p

EMMA' WEINBERG, Dono'rnx A. WARD. 

